286 THE NORTH POLE 



marches as could a picked file of men from that partic- 

 ular company; and this file could not make the same 

 average for a certain number of forced marches that 

 the fastest traveler in the whole regiment could make. 



So that, with my party reduced to five picked men, 

 every man, dog, and sledge under my individual eye, 

 myself in the lead, and all recognizing that the moment 

 had now come to let ourselves out for all there was in 

 us, we naturally bettered our previous speed. 



When Bartlett left us the sledges had been practi- 

 cally rebuilt, all the best dogs were in our pa,ck, and we 

 all understood that we must attain our object and get 

 back as quickly as we possibly could. The weather was 

 in our favor. The average march for the whole journey 

 from the land to the Pole was over fifteen miles. We 

 had repeatedly made marches of twenty miles. Our 

 average for five marches from the point where the last 

 supporting party turned back was about twenty-six 

 miles. 



